2016 is here and hopefully the year started out well for everyone and will be a successful one for all. Now for some people the year started out with a bad headache, most likely you know what caused it. However, for some people the New Year may have started out with foot pain and you may be wondering why. The answer to that may have something to do with the shoes you wore the night before. Common party foot wear often leads to short term pain the next day. Many feel it’s a small price to pay for style however, that short term pain can lead to long term damage down the road. Let’s take a look at some common party foot wear and the potential problems they could cause. Any shoe that comes to a point in the toe area, whether it’s high heeled or not, will squish your toes together causing much pain and discomfort. Do this too often and it could lead to hammertoe deformities and bunions.

Pumps are often thought of as being a stylish yet sensible shoe. They have a wide toe area, are low heeled, and usually wide fitting. The one problem with pumps is that they commonly made of leather and often lead to chafing in the heel. Over time the chafing will cause a Haglund’s Deformity also known as pump bump. If you do want to wear these shoes but avoid getting pump bump you can try putting some padding in the heal area of your shoe such as a thin piece of felt cut into the shape of your heel. Platform shoes come in various styles, from high heels with thick soles to flat forms where you are basically walking on a flat platform. Many claim to feel more secure in these shoes but they have the tendency to force wearers to develop a type of stomping walk. This will cause unneeded pressure on the joints of the feet leading to sore feet, arch pain, and calluses.

Stilettos are very popular party shoes that are very dangerous for the wearer’s feet and ankles. Stilettos are high heeled shoes that can have a heel of four inches or more. This causes the wearer to basically walk around on their tip toes which will make them very unstable and can lead to them tripping or spraining their ankle. These are some of the more common shoes worn at parties or other social gatherings as well as common problems associated with them.

The 17 year old daughter of Steve Irwin, Bindi Irwin, recently took home the mirror ball trophy after winning “Dancing With The Stars”. The win didn’t come easy for her though, she had several emotional struggles after dances dedicated to her late father Steve Irwin “The Crocodile Hunter” who passed away in 2006. Furthermore, she sustained an ankle injury in the early weeks of the show but with proper treatment and a strong will, she managed to come back for the win. Sprained ankles are common injuries among dancers and other athletes as well as among everyday people too. A sprained ankle occurs when one or more of the ligaments supporting the ankle are either completely or partially torn.

Sprained ankles occur when you twist or roll your foot in a motion it isn’t intended too with a great force. This is very common among dancers as they leap during their dance routines. If they land on their feet the wrong way or push off wrong, the force can tear those supporting ligaments. This can also happen during everyday tasks such as walking around. If you happen to step on an object you don’t see and slip or step off a sidewalk wrong you can easily sprain your ankle. The first symptom you will probably notice following an ankle sprain is pain around your ankle. It will be a sharp pain at first that turns into a throbbing pain. There will also be some swelling, warmth, and redness in the area as well.

Ankle sprains are commonly diagnosed based on patient history and a physical exam. X-rays will be taken to rule out fractures or any other possible problems. Ankle sprains are commonly treated following the acronym RICE which stands for rest, ice, compression, and elevation. By doing this, it will reduce the swelling and promote healing which will get you back on your feet as quickly as possible. In order to prevent future injuries, ankle strengthening exercises can be performed such as moving your ankles in a circle in the air or writing the alphabet with your toes in the air. Once you are sure your ankle injury is healed, you can do more resistance type exercises such as step ups or walking on your toes as well as stretching your ankle with a towel.

With proper treatment and rehabilitation, you too can come back from an ankle injury like Bindi did to win “Dancing With The Stars”. We here at Affiliated Foot and Ankle Care located in Edison and Monroe, NJ congratulate Bindi Irwin on her recent victory of dancing with the stars. If you think you are suffering from an ankle sprain or would like more information about ankle sprains, please make an appointment with one of our podiatrists at Affiliated Foot and Ankle Care.

Do your feet feel cold all the time especially at night? Well this could simply be due to temperatures dropping outside or it could be a sign that you may have peripheral neuropathy. Many people who often have a chronic case of cold feet often attribute it to the weather or sometimes vascular problems. If it was due to the weather then your feet should warm up when indoors or if you put some socks on. Vascular problems usually don’t manifest as cold feet, it will often appear as pain that gets worse when walking and goes away with rest. Peripheral neuropathy is when nerves in your peripheral limbs (such as hands and feet) get damaged and depending on the type of nerve fibers that are damaged, it could manifest as cold feet. If sensory nerves are damaged, then you may experience the sensation of cold feet. It could also manifest as a pins and needles feeling like when your foot falls asleep (but doesn’t go away) or a jabbing pain. If nerves that control your muscles are damaged then you may experience weakness and if nerves that control automatic functions such as your heart rate or blood pressure are damaged then you may experience changes in blood pressure which could cause lightheadedness or dizziness.

There are many causes of peripheral neuropathy but the most common cause by far is uncontrolled diabetes. Over half of all people with diabetes do end up developing some form of neuropathy at some point in their lifetime. Other causes of peripheral neuropathy include trauma, B vitamin deficiency, medications, autoimmune diseases, and alcoholism just to name a few. Peripheral neuropathy is a very serious problem. Due to the fact that it often affects sensory nerves, people are often unable to feel pain to their limbs. So if someone has peripheral neuropathy in their feet and they are walking around with a small pebble in their shoe that they can’t feel, then that pebble will grind a hole in their foot creating a wound that could potentially get infected and lead to amputation of the foot.

In order to diagnosis peripheral neuropathy, your physician will need to take a complete history and physical exam of you as well as complete a neurological examination and perform tests to assess the functioning of the nerves. Damage to the nerves is often permanent but your doctor may recommend some changes to keep the disease from getting worse. If you are diabetic, it is very important that you keep your blood glucose levels under control. If your neuropathy is caused by other factors then your doctor will recommend steps to get those under control. Your doctor may also prescribe medication to help reduce diabetic nerve pain. If you are suffering from peripheral neuropathy or would like more information about peripheral neuropathy please make an appointment with one of our podiatrists at Affiliated Foot and Ankle Care located in Edison and Monroe, NJ.

Tuomo Ruutu a winger for the New Jersey Devils ice hockey team fractured his right foot and will not be able to play again for approximately 4-6 weeks. John Hynes, the head coach for the New Jersey Devils initially thought that Ruttu’s injury was just a bruise but x-rays revealed a far more serious fracture. Fractures of the feet are fairly common, a simple misstep or a fall can lead to a fracture in the foot. The severity of fractures can very quite significantly from minor cracks in the bones to full breaks that poke through the skin. The signs and symptoms of a fracture in the foot are going to vary from person to person and depend on what caused the injury. Common symptoms include pain and tenderness at the fracture site, swelling, deformity, pain that worsens with activity, and difficulty bearing weight on the affected foot. Many often report hearing a loud snapping or popping sound at the time the injury occurs. Often, a fracture in the foot often first shows up as and is mistaken for a bruise as in Ruutu’s case.

Fractures in the foot need to be taken very serious because early diagnosis and treatment can prevent the development of more serious complications. Complications that can result from stress fractures include arthritis, bone infections, or damage to the nerves and blood vessels in the area of the fracture. In order to diagnose a fracture in the foot your doctor will first check for points of tenderness in your foot and depending on what they find, imaging tests may be needed. Usually an x-ray will confirm the presence or absence of a fracture but other tests could include a bone scan, a CT scan or an MRI. Treatment for fractures in the foot is going to vary depending on the severity of the fracture. If you have a small stress fracture, it can heal on its own with rest. More serious fractures are going to require surgery to realign the bones and immobilize them to prevent them from moving. In all cases, adequate rest and therapy will help the injury to heal faster.

Foot fractures are fairly common especially among people who play sports like hockey but they are serious and require immediate attention. We here at Affiliated Foot and Ankle Care in Edison and Monroe, NJ wish Tuomo Ruutu of the New Jersey Devils a speedy recovery and hope to see him back on the ice soon. If you think you are suffering from a foot fracture or would like more information about foot fractures please make an appointment with one of our podiatrists at Affiliated Foot and Ankle Care located in Edison and Monroe, NJ.

If you’re a runner you are probably familiar with the numerous types of insoles for your running shoes that claim to improve your performance and prevent injuries. You may have even experienced a shoe store associate launch into a sales pitch about how a certain insole will provide greater comfort, boost efficiency, and prevent injury while you are shopping for a new pair of shoes. While you are listening to this and looking at shoes you may be wondering, “if I am going to spend a hundred dollars or more on a new pair of shoes, do I really need to spend more on inserts?” The answer is maybe, everyone’s feet are created differently and everyone has a different running style so the benefits of a “universal insole” will be different for everyone.

One of the reasons often used for needing a pair of insoles is that your feet over-pronate when you run and the new insoles will prevent that. However, pronation is a natural part of the running stride and the degree to which a person is over-pronating is going to vary with each individual. Some running stores will have a basic gait analysis lab where someone will watch you run on a treadmill and then tell you your running stride style. Based on your running style the store associate may advise you to buy a pair of insoles to go with the new shoes you are going to get. Despite this however, you may want to hold off on getting those inserts and see how the shoe works for you without the inserts. You want to determine if shoe works with your running style on its own or if you need to add insoles to the shoe. If you are experiencing pain and discomfort during your runs then you may want to try a pair of insoles recommended based on your running style and see if they relieve your pain and discomfort during your run.

Research on the benefits of insoles is mixed. Some studies show that insoles decrease chronic running pain as well as stress forces on the foot. Other studies have found the opposite results and even indicate that insoles may actually promote the development of running injuries. So why are there such polar differences in the research on running insoles? Probably the biggest reason for the variability is due to the fact that people’s feet are different and their running styles are going to be different as well. For some people an insole will provide no benefits to their running performance. For others, an insole may provide the comfort and stability they need to improve their performance. If you have questions about running shoes or running insoles or would like more information about running shoes and insoles, please make an appointment with one of our podiatrists at Affiliated Foot and Ankle Care located in Edison and Monroe, NJ.